A Daredevil story: How a rookie Kannada film team excelled in promotions

The makers of the recent Kannada college drama ‘Daredevil Musthafa’, led by director Shashank Soghal, banked on a series of off-beat ideas to take their film to the masses

Necessity is the mother of all invention. Director Shashank Soghal and his team were halfway through their dream project when the pandemic struck in 2020. The software engineer-turned-filmmaker was anxious about his debut venture as he hadn’t even announced the project. Thus was born a unique marketing campaign for the crowd-funded Daredevil Musthafa, the Kannada film which is making waves since its release on May 19. The film, set in the 70s, is an entertaining college drama that offers a message of unity amidst the backdrop of communal conflict.

The film is based on Poornachandra Tejaswi’s short story of the same name. Ardent readers aren’t easily satisfied with movie adaptations of their favourite books and are dismissive of what filmmakers do in the name of creative liberty. Well aware of this challenge, Shashank first grabbed the attention of the fans of the iconic literary figure.

His stint with a television channel as a creative producer influenced him to plan a series of promotional videos. What began as a three-part title announcement video, developed into a carefully-crafted promotional strategy helped by off-beat ideas and neat execution. A rookie filmmaker wondering how to drive people to theatres to watch his film can take a leaf out of Daredevil Musthafa’s pre-release run.

“Generally, title announcement videos have visuals from the film or the film’s name. We shot three promotional videos and released them in the lead-up to Tejaswi’s birthday,” says Shashank. The first video is a catchy interaction between Shashank and a man at a photocopying centre. “The story is the hero,” Shashank says to the man as he takes a copy of his film’s script. The second video is a hilarious audition for aspiring filmmakers to work as assistant directors in Daredevil Musthafa. The contestants are asked about Tejaswi, and their ignorant responses generate laughs.

The third video impressed Tejaswi’s fans, says Shashank. The makers shot it in Tejaswi’s house in Chikkamagaluru district. You hear the voice and see the blurry image of a fictional Tejaswi, who grants the team permission to make a film based on his work. “Make a film that everyone will enjoy,” Tejaswi tells Shashank.

“Many said the video was magical. We felt as though Tejaswi himself granted us the right to do the film. The video was a huge hit with his fans, many of whom were part of a Facebook page of 75,000 members,” says Shashank.

Daredevil Musthafa then offered a tribute to thespian Dr. Rajkumar through an innovative animation song. To Shashank’s credit, the song, ‘Ninnathor Yaaru Ilavallo’ (composed by the legendary theatre personality B V Karanth), wasn’t a superfluous fan service but a sincere celebration of the matinee idol.